ABA Prez Calls Attempts to Sway US Attys a 'Corruption of Justice'

For the past several months, as public debate swirled over the alleged political firings of nine U.S. attorneys, the ABA has remained fairly quiet. But this week, the association’s policy-making body spoke out, and so did its new president.

At a news conference, newly installed ABA President William H. Neukom of Seattle said there appears to be a misunderstanding “in some parts of the government” about the impartiality of Justice Department lawyers. Neukom said efforts to influence decisions the decision of federal prosecutors “is a corruption of justice,” the ABA Journal reported.

The ABA’s House of Delegates also took a stand, however mild, when it approved a resolution stating that the ABA, “supports the principle that the appointment, retention, and replacement of United States attorneys and career government attorneys, and the exercise of their professional judgment and discretion should be insulated from improper political considerations.”